Founded in 2015 by Dawn Frank Holtan, Experientialists workshops offer a unique approach to learning. We believe that learning happens within the individual, and that we all learn what we love in our own time, according to our own interests and experiences. Everyone involved in our workshops must be actively choosing to be here.

Our work approaches learning from the inside out instead of from the top down, and we bring people together based on their internal interests rather than their external appearances. We do not ever have age restrictions–instead, all of our workshops have participant prerequisites based on the skills necessary for participation and enjoyment. Every workshop requires creative input and active contributions from everyone involved.

We believe people should be encouraged to pursue their own interests, without expectations, testing, and other measurements from the outside. We believe immense learning and immeasurable joy can be found in the creative process, and so our workshops apply the principles of creating art to many other subjects.

We also believe that it is possible to create more with others than on one’s own, so our workshops always include collaboration. We recognize the importance of presenting our independent creations to people who share our interests, so our workshops leave room for solo creations. We believe learning happens when people trust each other, so we build communication, empathy and support into our workshops.